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Welcome to the Difficulty concentrating Forum

Migraine is a neurological process that involves our brains. For many of us, difficulty concentrating is part of our experience during an attack. There are 4 stages to a Migraine attack, and difficulty concentrating may play a part in any or all of the stages. For more information on Migraine stages, please see this post “What are the stages of a Migraine?” http://bit.ly/gq0mdy

Do you have difficulty concentrating before, after or during a Migraine attack? Please share your experience, or ask questions here

Yes I do and have been suffering with chronic migraine and hemiplegic migraine for most of my life. Been on SS disability for almost 10 years now..Now my 12 yr old son is also suffering. He’s been getting them since he was about 6. Then started getting Alice in Wonderland Symptoms. But now they have gotten much worse with the onset of puberty. He has missed lot of school already and has decided to try and stay in school and try to work thru the pain so at least he is there and not missing so much. But he has trouble concentrating. Especially when he’s supposed to be doing research and writing a report in school. The teacher sees him straring into space and thinks he should be tested for ADD. I tried to explain to her that pain is distracting and makes it hard to learn and process things. He also just started Topomax and I told her (and not my son) that one of the side effects could be short term memory loss and to please let me know if she notices this. She wants me to sign a release form so the school can talk directly to his dr. I feel like she doesn’t beleive me. Is there any where I can find some printed info to show her about how migraine and difficulty concentrating?

Blest – Is your son seeing a headache specialist? That is probably the very best place to start. Not only will a headache specialist have access to research that can back up what you’re telling the school, but can help you in dealing with them if necessary.

It’s possible that the teacher isn’t taking you seriously, and may have another agenda as well. Allowing them to talk to your doctor without you being present may not be the best thing you could do. Instead, why don’t you ask them to provide you with a list of questions they have that you could present to your son’s doctor for him to address in writing. Doctors are used to providing this service, and a physician’s letter to your son’s school should be sufficient even for an IEP if you find the need to go that far.

Be sure and check your school’s written policy for rules and regulations re: parental and schools rights and responsibilities in the case of this type of special circumstance. Follow them to the letter, and this usually includes notifying the school in writing of your intent to seek help for your son. Some parents like myself, find that the school is less than enthusiastic re: helping your child, necessitating finding a child advocate to come and help facilitate the process. These are available in most states and are usually free. They know the regulations in your state and how to work within the system to get the results you need. Their job is to help the child.

Thank you, Ellen. Yes, he does see a pediatric migraine specialist. Your suggestions are very helpful. I will call him today.

I agree with Ellen, A letter from your doctor is sufficient, they have no right to speak to your doctor, nor should they. This is why the HIPPA rules exist (patient’s right to privacy act). Greg

I have a lot of trouble concentrating because I get extreme nausea and vomiting from my headaches. The throbbing pain is terrible and the auras take almost an hour to go away and keep reoccurring. I recently had this checked out with a CAT scan because I had migraines that would last several days and come right back and intensify for about 2 weeks straight. I now have one again. I am new to the site and would love to hear advice from anyone.

I have always had difficulty concentrating..especially in school. But because of my severe migraines and focus difficulty my current employer decided to let me go and they did not understand that I was suffering from migraines. I told them too and the human resources said “take a pill and youll be fine”. Im like really. People these days are so unsympathetic and have no idea what we migraineurs go through.

Most commonly headaches sneak up on me gradually, but sometimes, I will find myself unable to make a simple decision or spaced out, and at least sometimes then I realize that I have a migraine coming on. I also frequently experience a sense of having tunnel vision at those times. My visual field is not actually limited but I somehow have that experience.